1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a motor vehicle parking system capable of automatically recovering to perform parking operation which was stopped by a power failure, and more particularly to a control apparatus and method for a vertically and laterally moving type motor vehicle parking system by which the system automatically recovers its parking operations when power is restored after a failure with a capability of recalling information indicative of the previous parking operation executed before the power failure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional vertically and laterally moving type motor vehicle parking facility is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional motor vehicle parking facility comprises a plurality of lifting pallets 2c-2e whose reference positions are on the second level column, a plurality of laterally moving pallets 2a, 2b whose total number is at least 1 less than the number of the lifting pallets 2c-2e and whose reference positions are on the ground-level floor, a plurality of limit switches 3a-3c, 4a-4c installed on the top and bottom of the lifting pallets 2c-2e for detecting the operating state of the respective pallets 2c-2e, a plurality of limit switches 7a, 7b installed on the bottom of the laterally moving pallets 2a, 2b for detecting the operating state of the respective pallets 2a, 2b, an over-lifting, detecting switch 6 installed on the ceiling of the parking facility for detecting the over-lifting of the lifting pallets 2c-2e and outputting a detected signal to a control unit to stop a driving motor when the over-lifting is detected, and the control unit (not shown in FIG. 1) for controlling the operation of the respective pallets in accordance with detected signals inputted from the above-described switches, and a manipulation unit (also not shown in FIG. 1) for entering data required to operate the system.
The operation of the conventional parking facility as constructed above will be explained with reference to the FIGS. 2A to 2C and 3.
Referring to FIG. 2A to 2C, assume that a system operator wishes to retrieve a motor vehicle laded on the pallets 2c-2e. First referring to FIG. 2A, supposing the vehicle is loaded on the pallet 2c, the directs unit controls the pallets 2a and 2b on the ground-level floor to move to the right, so that a space is provided for moving the pallet 2c down to the ground-level floor. Referring if, the system operator wishes to retrieve the motor vehicle loaded on the pallet 2d, the directs unit controls pallets 2a and 2b to move left and right respectively, as shown in FIG. 2B. Similarly, if the vehicle is on the pallet 2c, the unit controls the pallets 2a and 2b to move left.
However, the conventional parking system has the drawback in that it cannot resume its automatic parking operation after a recovery form a power failure, because the positional information of the respective pallets 2a-2c is lost when the power failure occurs. The system cannot accomplish its automatic parking operation until all the pallets are in their reference positions. Accordingly, the conventional parking system may not resume its automatic parking operation after recovery from a power failure until the system operator manually moves the pallets to their reference positions as shown in FIG. 1 using an automatic/manual operation selection switch.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the operation of the conventional parking system is described when a power failure occurs. First, the power is supplied to the system (step S1), and the system operator manually surveys the parking facility to determine whether or not any safety related problems exist in the system (step S2). If safety related problems do not exist in the system, the system operator or the vehicle driver turns on a safety confirmation button (step S3) and then manipulates the system to call the respective pallet (step S4). The plurality of the pallets thereafter moves under the control of the system (step S5). If the power failure occurs and is later recovered (step S5), the system operator or the vehicle driver sets the system with a manual operation mode by manipulating an automatic/manual operation mode selection switch (step S6). The plurality of the pallets not at their reference positions are then manually moved to their reference positions by the system operator or the vehicle driver (step S7). Thereafter, a check is made to determine whether or not all pallets are in their reference positions. If so, the automatic parking operation is resumed (step S9). Otherwise, it returns to the step S7. If any safety related problems exist at step S2, the system is set to operate in emergency operation mode (step S10).
An automatic/manual operation mode selection switch, a brake means in a pallet driving motor, and a lever for locking/releasing the brake means are provided to perform step S7. In order to laterally move the pallets not at their reference positions, the system operator or the vehicle driver positions the lever to release the brake, and pushes the laterally moving pallets to a desired position. Also, the lifting pallets can be moved down to the ground-level floor by its own weight or can be moved up by rotating a handle connected to a driving shaft of the motor.
The conventional motor vehicle parking system has the disadvantage that it is inconvenient to use when a power failure occurs. The conventional parking system is designed to automatically move the pallets to store or retrieve a motor vehicle, however, the information required for the automatic operation of the system lost when a power failure occurs. Thus, the system operator or the vehicle driver must manually move the pallets to their reference positions to restart the automatic parking operation. Therefore, after the recovery from the power failure is recovered, the conventional motor vehicle system causes inconvenience in use and requires large time consumption.